Full Moon Pt. 01

"You could pull a Ferris Bueller."

I choked on my own laughter at her words; my whole face hurting from how hard the laughter hit me and slapped my knee for a few seconds.

"Naw, naw. I couldn't pull something so messed up like that, you know? Though, I'm sure if I did, I'd have plenty of days off until the jig was up and someone wised up."

"Go get dressed, then, Chris. You're not wearing that hideous uniform while we're out spending time with each other. Especially at the mall."

"Wouldn't dream of it." I wrinkled my face.

Wandering back to my room, I approached my walk-in closet and opened the door walking inside.

I had a lot of junk that I had never done much with since I had moved in with Stephanie, and a lot of my old things were still packed up and wrapped up. But I did have a few posters of swim suit models hanging up on my walls.

I went through my clothes; carefully pointing an indecisive finger at each and every shirt that was hung up in my closet. I wanted to look good for when I met up with Jessica. I didn't want to wear anything too fancy or flashy, because I wasn't going to a five star restaurant. I wanted to look nice, but not like I was about to roll out the red carpet.

Decision making was never one of my best qualities. And the pressure I was putting on myself was only making it worse for me. I just stood there waging war with myself mentally until I decided to just grab a regular white short-sleeve, Hanes shirt. I could just throw on a button up shirt and wear it over the shirt unbuttoned as a jacket for a little extra pizzazz.

So I decided on a denim short sleeve shirt, and removed that and the white shirt from the hangers and walked out of my closet to put them on the bed.

All I needed now was some pants, underwear and socks and shoes to wear.

My dresser stood beside the wall next to my bathroom, and it was a pretty old dresser. It was actually a hand-me-down from my grandfather who had given it to me on my ninth birthday as a present. I was too young to understand or even appreciate the sentimentality, or what it felt like to own something so old and aged. It was a fifty year old item. And it was by far the one thing I valued the most in my room.

I opened the top shelf of the old, worn dresser and pulled out a pair of briefs and some socks that I had washed just last week and took them to the bed, setting them on top of my shirts and then grabbed my mountain shoes and put them beside the pile.

I could barely contain my excitement for the fulfilled day that I was going to have. I don't think that I had been that excited about anything in years.

I stripped myself of the uniform that I was relieved not to have to wear, and grabbed my boxers pulling them up my legs and then reaching for my jeans, putting them on as well and zipped and buttoned them up. I slid the white short-sleeve over my shoulders and neck, then pulled it over my chest and abs. Once I had draped the denim button up over my shoulders, unbuttoning the buttons, I put on my socks and shoes and returned to the living room, heading to the kitchen to wait on Stephanie.

When I returned back to the kitchen, Stephanie was there in a new outfit; surprising me with a new clothes-changing record. She was a lot speedier than most girls I dated when it came to changing clothes and doing her makeup.

"How do I look?" She perkily asked.

She let me get a good glance of her from the front, then spun around so that her back was facing me.

Her outfit didn't seem to differ much from her previous. She had on a pink top with the shirt being so short that it left her belly button and stomach exposed, hugged her shoulders and arms with long sleeves, and a matching stripper-esque skirt that barely covered her mini bubble butt. Her outfit was completed with heel-top Velcro shoes. One thing I could say about Stephanie, is that she was bold and didn't seem concerned about how others may perceive her based on her fashion choices

"You look great." I replied.

"Really?" She turned to face me.

"Of course. But, you always do."

"You're sweet."

She rose to her tippy toes, and I blinked, but matched her height and her strawberry chap-stick covered lips planted a kiss on my cheek. She gave a short smile, then started to walk away towards the kitchen once she had lifted herself back down from her toes.

"Don't tell Joey, okay? He may get the wrong idea."

"Why would I?" I threw out my arms.

"Because you like me."

"WHAT?" I surprised even myself with my volume.

"I'm kidding, Chris. I'm kidding."

I shook my head, but gave a sarcastic smile and rolled my eyes, swatting my hand towards her direction in thin air.

"I don't think a lot is going to be open right now. It'll be a few hours before the stores start opening and what not. So how about we just laze around here for a while?"

"True. All right. We'll stay here for a while."

"Are you hungry, Steph?"

"A little." She replied.

"I was thinking about making some bacon and eggs with sausage for breakfast."

"That sounds delicious!"

"Off your diet?" I teased.

"Fuck that shit! I want real food."

"Right then. I'll cook you something good. That way; even if you do head back onto your diet, you'll have a good meal to look back on."

"Hell yeah! Tired of all this vegan shit that I let Dana talk me into."

I walked up to her and briefly hugged her with both arms, which she returned, and headed into the kitchen grabbing a skillet and turning on the stove. We engaged into further conversation while I cooked the food and once it was done, I grabbed the plates and silverware and two glasses which I filled with fat-free milk and sat down at the table.

Stephanie sat down on the table across from me once I had sat her plate and glass in front of her and picked up her silverware, cutting up her eggs and sausage.

"When are you going to marry him?" My voice was tinged with laughter as I cut up my food.

"Joey?"

"No. Burt Reynolds! Yes, Joey."

"I hadn't really thought about it. I just want to be sure he's the one."

"Be sure?" I glanced at her. "You two have been dating since before you were legal. Four years."

"True." She gave a nod of agreement. "But marriage is a serious thing. You don't want to end up with someone you'll later regret."

I paused cutting my food and stared straight at her; her words repeating in my head. Her words rang true. The last thing anyone wanted was a lifetime of misery with someone who turned out to be completely different from what they first assumed.

"You know?"

I snapped back to the present; quickly nodding my head to her words.

"Absolutely. Why marry someone right away, huh? I mean, yeah: He seems like a cool guy, doesn't he? But he could be a regular Norman Bates."

"S-stop it!" She bursted out giggling; dropping her silverware on her plate.

"I'll do it for you, mother! Just let me put on some of your old clothes and pose as you in drag. I'll kill them all."

"S-stop! I'm gonna piss my thong."

"Mother! Mother! What is this thing? I found it under your bed and it looks like a meaty dick."

By this point, her face was so red that it looked like her face was going to explode. Well, she did explode, but not like that. She started to laugh in a fit and couldn't stop herself from laughing.

"I'm peeing! I'm peeing!" She said.

I wasn't sure why it was so funny to her, but she seemed to find everything hilarious and had apparently wet herself from laughing too hard.

She laughed, and she laughed, and she laughed, and she laughed and she laughed. I was getting kind of worried, especially when tears started streaming down her eyes.

"You okay?" I cocked a brow.

"I-I'm okay." She tried to catch her breath.

She glanced down between her legs, and a look of embarrassment quickly shot across her face while she stared at her crotch area. She looked up, looked over at me and bite her lip. She rose from her seat and moved her hands to her crotch as if trying to cover it up, but I could see the wet stains from where she urinated on herself. She was trying to hide it, but couldn't.

Stephanie turned to me and walked away awkwardly.

"Steph, I'm sorry." I called out.

I rose from my seat and walked after her feeling horrible about what I just did to her, and hesitatingly hugged her from behind.

"I'm sorry." I whispered to her.

"I'm not mad. I had a good laugh."

"But you wet yourself."

"It's okay, Chris. If I were to ever piss on myself, I'd want to be doing it laughing at one of your jokes."

"I was sure you'd be mad." I said, surprised at how well and good-natured she was taking everything.

"I need to go change thongs. I'll be right back."

I released her and let her walk away from me and enter her bedroom where she closed her bedroom door.

I waited outside her bedroom door. I know she told me that she wasn't upset and wasn't blaming me for the embarrassing scene, but I was still feeling pretty guilty.

She returned after a few minutes wearing an identical skirt to the last; same tiny length and color, and didn't look embarrassed anymore.

"Want these?" She twirled her dirty thong around her finger.

"S-Steph!"

"Relax. I cleaned the piss off...But I humped them real good before I brought them back to you."

"S-stop that. I don't want your underwear."

"Not even a quick lick?"

"Wh-wha?"

"Relax. I'm just joking, okay? I didn't cum on them or anything, so calm down. Although I did clean them."

"I'm glad Joey wasn't here to hear our exchange."

"What if he didn't care?" She rose a brow with a playful glint in her eye when she spoke this.

"Steph." I didn't know what to say.

"Relax. You're so easy to mess with."

"The food's getting cold."

"Right." She started to approach the kitchen.

We sat down to eat once again.

"So does Jessica look different now?" She rose the fork up to her lips.

"A little." I replied; setting my glass down. "She hasn't changed that much. She seems to have put on a little weight since then, but she's not fat or anything. Just not as thin as she was. She doesn't have hardly any wrinkles, either."

"Wow." She rose a brow. "Thirty two and she still looks like a hot babe? Impressive. Her genes must be incredible."

"Should have seen my mom at thirty two." I chuckled. "She looked the same."

"Her boyfriend must be lucky."

"Husband." I clarified.

"Husband?" She blinked.

"She said they'd marry when they moved."

"Did she even update her Fb to married?" She inquired with a lift of her brow.

"No." I said. "She changed it to 'it's complicated.' So honestly, I don't even know what's going on with her at this point."

"Problems?"

"Problems? Heck, no. They're a perfect couple. I NEVER saw him yell at her, raise his voice, or try to hit her or even act verbally abusive."

"Something's going on." She concluded.

"Maybe.." I cupped my forehead.

"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, right? I'm sure your sister has a good reason for not being active in your life."

"I hope so." My voice dropped and I felt my face weaken with my eyes dropping down.

"Chris?"

"All these years I've wondered why she hasn't been trying to get back to me. I thought about seeking her out, but knew that if she wanted to talk, she'd try to get a hold of me. I just...I just wish she would have been here. I really need her."

"Hey, Chris. She's coming tonight, remember? Don't feel so down now. You'll be getting to see her again."

"I know." I quickly lifted my eyes up.

"So," she devoured the sausage and egg on her fork and sat her fork back down, "you wanna buy something to surprise her with while we're out?"

"I hadn't even thought about that." I sat my fork down. "That's actually a really good idea and I think that'd be a great way to show her how much she was missed while she was gone."

"Then, it's settled. We'll get her something nice. Something pretty for someone who's even prettier

"You know, a lot of weird stuff's been happening."

"Like what?" I grabbed a piece of bacon and rose it up to my mouth; taking a bite out of it.

"People dying, apparently. I've never kept up with the news that much, but, lately I've been watching it because the bodies are being found everywhere near here."

"What? Like a rabid serial killer?"

She shook her head. "No. People seem to think some kind of wild animal is out there somewhere, mauling people to death."

"Like what?"

"Bears? Panthers? Not enough info yet." She bite off some egg from her fork.

"Why not? Why's this need to be a secret? We have the right to know about what's going on in this damn town."

"I'd like to know, too."

"I guess we'll find out in time, huh, Steph?"

We finished our breakfast and then just wasted a few hours around the apartment while we waited for the clock to tick a few more hours away so we could set off into town.

I made us some coffee, putting milk and enough sugar to give us both diabetes, then we sat down together in front of the tv, on two fleece pillows and started up the PS3 and started playing Sonic Adventure, that I had downloaded from the PS store. I played as Sonic, while she played as Tails.

We played through Emerald Coast, staring at the screen without blinking or communicating with each other and stopped once we had beat Casinopolis.

We hung around the house a while longer and then we were off; heading downtown in my Altima.

"So what should we get Jessica?"

I glanced at her. "I'm not sure."

"Well, she's been pretty absent from your life, right? I think something that really shows her how special she is, is in order her. How about a necklace? And what about a new top or something?"

"The necklace thing is a good idea." I returned my gaze to the road. "But I'm not really sure what size clothes she wears. Even back then, I never paid much attention; especially when she headed to the bra and panty isles."

"Hmm. And if she really has gotten chubby, then, even if you did know, it wouldn't matter."

"We could just grab her something and hope it fits. It's the thought that counts, isn't it?"

"I suppose." She stared at the road.

What did you get for someone who you considered to be the most important aspect of your life? I felt that way about Jessica, even though it had been so long since we last heard from each other. I wanted to get her something, but I didn't want it to be something that was 'too much', and had her thinking I was some kind of weirdo who had a incestial crush on her Even if...

"I hope they have something cute I can buy. Joey is complaining that I wear the same thing too much. Says that my style is starting to get bland and that I need a change. But I like my style!" She pouted. "I mean, what else is there? I'm too picky..."

"There's plenty of styles out there to choose from. You like to dress sexy, right? Find some different clothes but make sure the look is sexy."

"I guess short shorts and micro skirts are out of the question." She exhaled heavily in despair.

"Why not just make it subtle?"

"Like?"

"Like, try wearing some stockings under the skirt or short shorts. Maybe ditch the tight crop top and wear a a small fringe bikini top."

I couldn't believe I was having this conversation with her and was actually encouraging her to show off her body. I mean, it probably wasn't pleasant for adults with children to see a girl walking around, showing her ass and tits with skin-hugging clothes.

"That sounds," her voice grew, "like a great idea!"

"See?" I grinned. "Problem solved. We can buy what you need for your new outfit and you can wear that for a while until he complains about that becoming stale as well.

For the rest of the drive, I suffered through some country love songs that Stephanie adored. I was more than happy when we finally got out of the car and stepped foot outside onto the ground of the parking lot of the mall since her music was driving me into insanity.

Jensen Mall. It had been a favorite place of Stephanie's for as far back as I could recall. I always enjoyed the trips that we made there and the design was quite impressive, with the inside of it looking like something a scifi nerd would shed tears of joy for.

"I got just enough money to buy Jessica a few things and help you out with paying if you need some."

She turned to face me, smiled and then shook her head.

"You focus on Jessica, okay? I'd feel bad if you spent money that should be going to her, on me, when I'm fully capable of paying for my own clothes. And besides," her smiled lifted slightly, followed by a short laugh, "I'm an expensive, high-maintenance kinda girl. Don't want you to go broke because of me."

"Yeah." I rubbed my cheek with my index finger. "You can be a handful."

"Exactly. So don't worry about me or my clothes, 'Kay? Because I'll be paying for my things with MY money."

"All right." I said simply.

We walked around the parking lot, passing by the countless shady evergreen trees and carefully watching out for any incoming vehicles. I could already see the bright blue neon sign that lingered at the edge of the top of the huge building.

We headed towards the mall and the doors opened for us and we walked inside. Immediately upon being inside we stopped by the map, but Stephanie turned to me and giggled before gesturing me to follow her, and not even bothering to read the map.

"I know where I'm going." She said. "I've been here so many times I have almost every important location memorized and so I don't need the stupid little maps to bro me navigate this building."

"Considering you've been here more than me," I started, "I wouldn't be surprised."

She smirked at my remark and stuck her tongue out at me playfully while we continued along the shiny and squeaky clean looking tiled floor, passing the in-mall river that deprecated the two sides and required a bridge to cross.

"I hope they have some good jewelry in here. I don't want anything that's sub-par."

"Don't worry, Chris; we'll find something that's just perfect and really shows Jessica just how special she truly is."

We continued through the mall but soon came to a stop when we arrived at Jared's and Stephanie turned to gaze at me and passed a wink towards my direction before we stepped into the store together.

We began to look at the jewelry once we were in, and I think that Stephanie was having the time of her life while we were inside, because each time her eyes went over the various silvers, golds and platinums and the precious gems, she'd giggle almost incessantly like a little school girl.

Sometimes I couldn't help but look and stare at her; Stephanie really could be so cute and adorable at times and almost made you forget just how 'high maintenance' she really was.

When I got over that and remembered just what she costed, I don't think I'd be able to handle any form of a relationship with her that wasn't one based strictly on friendship...Not with the job that I was stuck with at least.

She was sweet, kind even; but way too expensive.

There was so much good looking jewelry there that I was having a hard time even deciding on what I should get.

"Excuse me," spoke a cordial make voice, "may I help you with anything?"

When I lifted up my gaze, my eyes hit the face of a man probably in late twenties, with a carefully trimmed goatee and a pierced left ear and shaved head.

"Yes. I was looking for something really nice and special, but there's so much nice looking jewelry here I don't even know where to begin to make a decision on buying something."

"Ah. Something special for your girlfriend, here."

"What?" My face went red and so had Stephanie's when she looked up.

"No, no, no! You got it wrong; that's my best friend and we just, well...It's like this: I'm looking for something nice for my sister because she's been pretty absent from my life and she's coming down to meet me tonight. I wanted to have her something special for when I see her."